Sainsbury’s Tu Clothing explores operational changes with possible redundancies

Sainsbury’s is currently in early-stage discussions with the Tu Clothing team regarding potential operational changes, including possible role redundancies as well as the creation of new roles.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury's confirmed that the company had entered early-stage discussions with the team.

They said: "As we move into the final year of our Next Level Strategy, we are looking at the shape of our clothing team to ensure our focus is on what matters most to our customers.

"While we will regrettably lose some roles as part of this process, we expect to see many created as well."

The news follows the publication of Sainsbury's latest financial results earlier in the day, which showed that the Tu Clothing line had delivered "strong" growth and even outperformed the market. Sales rose 4.8%, driven by the strength of its spring/summer ranges, although this was partially offset by unseasonal weather in the latter part of the period.

Improved product availability supported a 6% increase in volume, while online sales grew by more than 20%, highlighting continued digital momentum.

Yet, the supermarket chain also issued a warning for the wider business, saying that the war in the Middle East would “impact both our customers and our business” and that profits could fall this year as a result.

Sainsbury's cautious message echoed the one delivered last week by its largest rival, Tesco.

It reported a £1.025 billion underlying operating profit for the year to 28 February, down 1.1% on the previous year.

Meanwhile, pre-tax profits jumped by 55.3% to £393 million for the year.

The retailer also revealed that group revenues, excluding VAT, rose by 2.7% to £33.6 billion for the year.

Retail sales, excluding fuel, were up 4.3% for the year, boosted by a 5.2% rise in grocery sales on the back of "strong" volume growth.

Sainsbury’s Chief Executive, Simon Roberts, said shoppers have become "even more focused on the cost of living" since the conflict started at the end of February.

He stressed that the retailer is committed to ensuring customers get "the best possible value" as a result. Sainsbury's outlined that it expects an impact from the conflict but that the duration and extent of this remain "very uncertain".

Sainsbury's expects to deliver underlying operating profits of between £975 million and £1.075 billion for the current financial year.